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THE OLD FORT AT FORT ATKINSON 




BY 

D. D. MAYNE 

City Superintendent of Schools, Janesville 



[From Proceedings of The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 



MADISON 

State Historical Society of Wisconsin 
1899 




Class F^80 ■ 



THE OLD FORT AT FORT ATKINSON 



BY 

D. D. MAYNE 
City Superintendent of Schools, Janesville 



[From Proceedings of The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1898] 



MADISON 
State Historical Society of Wisconsin 

1899 



40076 











:--^5^i 






5 ^ 



4J <a 



THE OLD FORT AT FORT ATKINSON. 



BY D. D. MAYNE. 



The history that is being made from day to day does not 
seem to us of great importance. The greater personal interest 
we may have in passing events, the less likely are we to make 
a careful record that may be of value to future historians. An 
old settler naively remarked, " If I had known sixty years ago 
that any one would be asking about the old fort, I would have 
given more attention to it." When history must depend upon 
fickle memory and careless observation, it behooves us to 
"prove a'l things," and hold fast to but little. 

Records with reference to the old fort are entirely wanting, 
and the remembrances of the early settlers are so conflicting as to 
make the whole account legendary rather than historical. The 
history of the operations of the army sent against Black Hawk 
does not aid materially in clearing up the difficulty; on the con- 
trary, it makes "confusion worse confounded." Many of the 
operations of the army, as described, are manifestly errors, for 
they do not correspond with the geography of the country ; and 
no two accounts agree. In July, 1832, General Henry Atkinson, 
with his division of the regular army, together with some inde- 
pendent companies of volunteer from Illinois, came up the east 
side of Rock River, hoping to overtake Black Hawk and his war- 
riors in the marshes about Lake Koshkonong. He came, however, 
a few hours too late. Black Hawk had escaped. From Lake Kosh- 
konong the army went to Burnt Village, on Bark River, at the 
point where Whitewater Creek empties into it, near what is now 
known as Cold Spring. Here Atkinson was assured by some Win- 
nebagoes that on the other side of the Bark Rivei', Black Hawk 
was secreted on an island. Crossing to the other side, some of 

1 Address before the State Historical Convention at Madison, February 
23, 1899. 



Iq8 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

the scouts saw what they supposed to be the trail, and the task 
of transporting the army across the small stream was begun. 
On account of the marshiness of the ground, this was a difficult 
task. In many places they found, after crossing, that what 
seemed to be solid ground was no more than a vast area of 
liquid mud, covered with a few inches of sod. Horses would 
sink in this, and all efforts to extricate them seemed unavailing. 
The building of a bridge was an impossibility because no foun- 
dation could be obtained. At last they made a bridge of marsh 
grass, which they cut and piled in the river. Reports of all 
kinds were being circulated as to the presence of Black Hawk, 
and some Indians were actually seen just across the river. 

While floundering about in the morasses of this so-called 
island, across the Bark River, Capt. Jacob M. Early's independ- 
ent company of Illinois rangers, in which Abraham Lincoln was 
a private, becoming discouraged and disgusted with the at- 
tempt to find the Indians, left for home — some on furlough, 
but many without that formality. The muster rolls showed the 
absentees amounted to nearly one-half. The word " deserted " 
seldom occurs, however; in lieu thereof, the words " Supposed 
to be discharged," "Name omitted on muster roll," "Ordered 
to Dixon," or "Absent without leave," were substituted. In 
one instance "He says he had to plow " is used.' 

Atkinson, bewildered, but knowing that the Indians must be 
driven by famine to give battle or to retreat, determined to cut 
off retreat and provide a place for provisions and for the sick, 
by building a fort. He dropped down Bark River to the point 
whei'e the Bark enters the Rock, and there erected the fort 
called Fort Koshkonong.- Later, the name was changed, in 
honor of the General, to Fort Atkinson. Operations were prob- 
ably commenced on the fort July 11, 1832. 

The stockade, for such it was, was erected a little east of 
north of where the residence of E. P. May now stands, about 
six rods from Rock River, and one hundred rods west of the 

'Armstrong, The Sauks and the Black Haick War (Springfield, 111., 
1887), p. 443. 

2 Wakefield, 7//.s/or^ of Late Indian Tr«r (Jacksonville, 111., 1834), 
p. 47. 



THE OLD FORT AT FORT ATKINSON. IQ9 

mouth of the Bark.' The enclosure included, it is estimated, 
from one-half to one acre of land. It was built about square, 
and had two very rude block houses, one on the southeast and 
the other on the northwest corner.- 

The stockade was formed by digging a trench about four feet 
deep, and placing oak logs on end, so that they would extend 
above the ground about eight or ten feet. Loop-holes were left 
between the logs, so that muskets might be used from within in 
case of an attack. A short distance east of the fort was a large 
windlass used to draw up cattle for slaughter. General Atkinson 
had at one time 4,500 regular soldiers encamped in and about 
the fort. 

During the latter part of July, 1832, accurate information was 
obtained that Maj. Henry Dodge •had discovered Black Hawk 
iind his entire army flying towards the Mississippi.'' Atkinson 
sent 3,000 of bis troops to Helena, on the Wisconsin River, to 
join the pursuing division under Dodge, while thirt}" or forty 
men w^ere left to garrison the fort. The next month, the fort 
was abandoned, having been used about two months. 

Much criticism was passed on Atkinson by the Eastern jiress, 
and by some of the old Indian fighters, because of his failure to 
■capture Black Hawk at Lake Koshkonong. • Some intimated that 
he was cowardly, and erected forts and breastworks when there 
was little necessity. It was evident that Black Hawk was trying 
toescaipe from Atkinson, and it was charged that Atkinson was 
doing all in his power to avoid Black Hawk. However much 
criticism he deserved for building this fort, and for his failure 
to capture Black Hawk at this point, he retained the respect 
and loyalty of the soldiers of the regular army. Wakefield, who 
was with Atkinson, thus describes* the precautions taken by 
him just before reaching Lake Koshkonong: "Here Gen. At- 
kinson had on this night (July 1) breastworks thrown up which 
was easy done; as w>? were encamped in thick, heavy timber, 
this was a precaution which he was always afterwards famous 

' Mrs. C. A. Southwell, Fort Atkinson as it Was. 
nVis. Hist. CoUs., viii, p. 313. 
3Id., vi, p. 40C. 
^ Page 47. 



200 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

for, and which went to show that he set a great deal by the- 
lives of his men and by no means was a mark of cowardice; for 
generalship comes more in good management than in anything, 
else. " 

One of the soldiers ' while stationed here, went to the Bark 
River to fish. An Indian skulking in the high grass on the 
other side shot him, the wound proving fatal. He was buried 
on the top of the hill, about six rods north of where the Luth- 
eran Church now stands. The grave was surrounded with oak 
logs and covered with pebbles from the river. A stave at 
the head of the grave bore the name " Peter Dobbs, " rudely 
carved, though with evident pains. This grave was shown to- 
visitors up to 1890, when the hill was removed. Tradition says 
that one other soldier was shot hei'e, and another died of disease. 
Both of these were buried east of and near the foot of the hill 
dedicated to Peter Dobbs. 

In the fall of 1836, Dwight Foster and family, accompanied 
by Aaron Rankin, came to Fort Atkinson and erected a log 
cabin about fifteen feet square, four rods west of the fort. The 
fort, at that time, was partially demolished, and after a few 
years there was little left of the old stockade. 

Mr. Foster's house 'was the first one built in the settlement of 
Fort Atkinson, and was used as the post office and as an inn* 
for travelers.-' A. F. Pratt, with A. Story, made a trip from- 
Milwaukee to the lead mines in February, 1837. In an account, 
he speaks of the difficulty of the trip after leaving Prairie Vil- 
lage (Waukesha), and then says: 

We reached Rock River just as the god of day was sinking in the west,, 
and as good luck would have it we discovered a light a short distance from' 
the river and directed our steps toward it. Upon our arrival at the spot 
from which it proceeded we found some old friends whom we had previ- 
ously seen at Prairie Village, the Messrs. Foster of Fort Atkinson. This 
was the only cabin in the place. It had just been completed and was 
located near the old fort. 

Reader, if you are ever cold, hungry, weary, " dry " and wet at the same 
time you can imagine our feelings at that time. The accommodations- 
were somewhat limited, it being a log cabin of about the usual size and 

' Aaron Rankin is my authority. 
2 Wifi. Hist. Colls., i, p. 140. 



THE OLD FORT AT FORT ATKINSON. 201 

■contained but one room, occupied by two families. Ten travelers besides 
■ourselves had bespoken lodgings for the night, still we were comfortably 
provided for. 

In the subjoined sketch of the old fort as seen in 183G, Mr. 
Foster's hospitable residence is included. The sketch is of 
•course an ideal one, and is made from descriptions of those 
who saw the fort at that time. 

Tt is a pleasant fiction often recounted, that Abraham Lincoln 
•was at Fort Atkinson. As with Homer and his birth place, it 
is feared that there must be many Lincolns to satisfy the 
desire of all places to claim the presence of our national hero. 
Abraham Lincoln, with a companion, was undoubtedly traveling 
on foot towards his Illinois home, before Fort Atkinson was 
built. Although this honor cannot be ours, there is some evi- 
deuce that Jefferson Davis spent some time in the fort.' It is 
stated that he was at this time a lieutenant under Captain Low 
at Fort Atkinson. Major Davies said, "he was as gentlemanly a 
man as I ever saw." But even this modicum of notoriety must 
be denied. There is better evidence that Jefferson Davis was 
not with his command at Fort Atkinson. He took part in 
transporting prisoners from Fort Crawford to St. Louis, but 
that is probably his only connection with the Black Hawk War.^ 

Even though the old stockade was of no particular value in 
defense, and even though none of Black Hawk's braves ever had 
the slightest intention of making an attack on Atkinson's army, 
it has served the purpose of making an interesting historical 
center, and probably of locating the beautiful and thriving city 
of Fort Atkinson. 

1 Wis. Hist. Coifs., vi, p. 407. 
-Anderson, Wis.Hisf. Colls., x, p. 172. 



